Conduct read alouds for students focused on lions. Invite students to watch them live on the Internet or visit a zoo or wild animal park. Find out about lions' natural habits and habitats. Students research what, and how much, lions eat every day. What else do they need to be comfortable and content? How do zoos try to provide lions and other wild animals with more natural surroundings?

Invite students to create a drawing of a lion using Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils. Show the male's bushy, handsome mane. Both males and females have whiskers and a graceful tail. What do their eyes and noses look like?

Students decide whether to show their lions in its natural habitat or in a circus or zoo. Erase lines in picture to resemble the lion roaming through vegetation or standing behind cage bars. This is the foreground. Color the background setting to show the King of Beasts.

Allow time in the school day for students to present their drawings to classmates. Where is there lion living? What is life like there?

Possible classroom resources include: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney; Lazy Lion (African Animal Tales) by Mweyne Hadithi; Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #26: Pandas and Other Endangered Species by Mary Pope Osbourne & Natalie Pope Boyce; Gone Wild by David McLimans; The Best Book of Endangered and Extinct Animals by Christiane Gunzi; Can We Save Them? Endangered Species of North America by David Dobson; Almost Gone: The World's Rarest Animals by Steve Jenkins

Using Crayola Model Magic, students create 3-D sculptures of lions. Students paint their sculptures and compose a short summary of what they have learned about this species of animals. Display the 3-D sculptures with the summaries.

Invite a local zookeeper to speak with the class about running a zoo and caring for large animals such as lions. Also ask the guest to discuss what is being done for endangered species. Students write questions for the zookeeper prior to the visit. Afterwards, students participate in small group discussions sharing what they have learned.

How does an animal get put on the endangered species list? Students investigate this question and propose possible actions humans can take to assist in protecting lion species from becoming extinct.

Students create a triarama of a lion in its natural habitat. Use 3-D sculptures in the triaramas.